


Pumpkin Muffins

by vcg73



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Tumblr: kurtoberfest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 00:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16377866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: Kurt and Carole bond over baking.





	Pumpkin Muffins

Carole hummed a light tune as she bustled about the kitchen, mixing ingredients into a large bowl. She checked the oven and nodded, quickly rubbing butter along the cups of two waiting muffin tins. Pausing to wash her hands first, she picked up the bowl and poured her mixture in equal portions.

“What are you making?” asked Kurt, entering a few minutes later.

Carole grinned to see him sniffing the fragrant air as he followed his nose into the kitchen. Usually Finn was the one who could be counted on to show up the moment anything edible became available. “Pumpkin muffins,” she said. “I also made some pumpkin cookies. Help yourself.”

Forgoing his usual token protest about watching his weight, Kurt drew toward the cooling racks like a hungry magnet, helping himself to a handful. “Wow, dese are amaving!” he said, speaking around the still-hot cookie. 

“Thank you! Coming from you, I’ll take that as high praise. And just so you know, they’re low-fat and heart-healthy, so your dad can have some too.”

“Pumpkin is great for healthy cooking and baking,” he agreed, happily gobbling down another one. “You used cinnamon and just a pinch of ginger, right?”

Surprised that he could taste the latter, Carole agreed, “I did. How could you tell?”

“You’re using the blue cookbook,” he said. “I remember the recipe.”

Sudden understanding filled her. “Your mom used to bake these for you?” Kurt nodded, and Carole was pleased to see no hint of resentment or sorrow in his face. Instead, he actually looked very pleased. “Maybe you’d be willing to help me make another batch. If they came out as well as you say, they aren’t going to last long.”

He nodded and swallowed the last of his cookie. “That’s for sure! Dad will be on them like a blood-hound when he comes home, and Finn will just inhale as he walks past and we’ll never see a crumb of evidence that they were ever here.”

Carole laughed, unable to deny that. Her son was like a human vacuum cleaner when it came to tasty snacks. “The store had a big sale on canned pumpkin, so I stocked up on a bunch of other ingredients. I probably bought far too much of it, but I figured we’d use it up eventually. I like to bake,” she explained, not quite sure why she felt the need to insure her step-son’s approval. 

Maybe it was because she had used his mother’s old recipe book, or maybe it was because Kurt had been away from home as a newly registered student of Dalton Academy last fall and had not been here to help form any new family traditions with her. There was still an unfortunate distance between herself and Kurt. He still seemed to view her as “Finn’s mom” or “Dad’s wife”, rather than anything belonging to him. She wanted to find a way to change that, to form a bond like Finn had developed with Burt.

“I like to bake too,” Kurt agreed. “Or any kind of cooking really.”

“Do you have any other favorites we could try?” she ventured, sidling closer and putting a hand lightly on Kurt’s shoulder as he paused to flip through the recipe book. She was pleased when he did not flinch or look surprised by the touch as he usually did. She suspected that the familiar homey scents that surrounded them had unconsciously lowered his defenses. 

Kurt put a finger into the book to hold her place in the baking section, then moved the pages to a place nearer the front where the soups and salads were filed. “You ever have savory pumpkin soup?” he asked, pointing to one page. “I know we have vegetable stock and wheat pasta. All we need other than that are spices, cream, and mozzarella cheese. It’s a little rich, but it’s still pretty healthy as long as we make sure Dad doesn’t drown himself in the tureen.”

She chuckled. “A favorite dish, I take it?”

“Yeah. That one wasn’t mom’s. She wasn’t really a soup person, but I am. I tried out most of this section when I was in middle school. Dad didn’t want to eat it at first. He said orange soup wasn’t natural, but once he got a taste there was no holding him back.”

Pleased that he was willingly sharing one of the closely-guarded memories of his childhood, she gave his shoulder a squeeze. “In that case, I think we should give it a try.“

The oven chose that moment to ping. “Your muffins are ready,” Kurt pointed out, holding out a mitt and putting its mate over his own hand. Opening the oven door, they each retrieved a tin. Kurt sniffed deeply. “Mmmm, these smell like Fall, don’t they?”

“They do,” she agreed, dumping the baked goods into a waiting basket to cool. “I don’t know why so many people have spring and summer as their favorite seasons. I’ve always been more of an autumn person. Colored leaves, crisp temperatures, stews and casseroles.”

“Light sweaters and scarves,” Kurt added. “Rainy days and new boots, fresh apples, people baking pumpkin muffins when you come home from school.” He flashed her a naughty look as he fished a fresh muffin out of the basket and nipped off a small bite, careful of the temperature.

Carole laughed. “Halfsies!” she demanded, ripping off two paper towels and passing one to Kurt. He obligingly ripped the large muffin in half and passed one over to her. “I have water heated. We can make some hot chocolate to go with these if you want to take a break before we get back to this. Or do you have homework?”

“Nope, did it in study hall,” he said, turning at once to rummage in the cupboard where the cups were stored. He watched Carole fix their hot chocolate without another word. 

They took their snack out to the dining room, sitting side by side facing the window, where they had a good view of the red, orange, and gold leaves tumbling to the ground outside. They finished eating in silence and then sat together, cradling the warm cups in their hands. 

“This is nice,” Kurt said quietly, looking at Carole with eyes that were suddenly filled with unexpected longing. “Being here with you, like this.”

“I think so too,” she said. “It’s nice to have someone, a son, who can appreciate the quiet moments.”

Kurt smiled shyly. “Finn doesn’t really do quiet,” he agreed. “And Dad thinks every quiet moment is a call for televised sports.”

She grinned. “I know what you mean.”

There was a pause, and then Kurt ventured, “It’s nice to have a mom again.”

Unable to answer past the sudden lump in her throat, Carole reached out and gave his nearest arm a loving squeeze.

In no hurry to get back to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, Kurt and Carole sat in the quiet room and sipped their cocoa, content and warm in each others company. 

THE END


End file.
